Taju Akay (21 January 1962 – 19 May 2006), known professionally as Tee Jay, was a

Ghana Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and To ...

ian-born British

boxer Boxer most commonly refers to: * Boxer (boxing), a competitor in the sport of boxing *Boxer (dog), a breed of dog Boxer or boxers may also refer to: Animal kingdom * Boxer crab * Boxer shrimp, a small group of decapod crustaceans * Boxer snipe ee ...

. After fighting for Ghana at the 1984 Olympic Games he turned professional and went on to become British cruiserweight champion.

Career

Born in

Accra Accra (; tw, Nkran; dag, Ankara; gaa, Ga or ''Gaga'') is the capital and largest city of Ghana, located on the southern coast at the Gulf of Guinea, which is part of the Atlantic Ocean. As of 2021 census, the Accra Metropolitan District, , ...

, Ghana in 1962, Akay settled with his family in Paddington London in the 1970s where he boxed out of the All Stars Boxing and Youth Club, which his father—former professional Isola Akay had started.Oyedoyin, Tunde (2002)
Sir Ishola Akay - The story of a boxing legend
, ''Nigeria World'', 1 October 2002. Retrieved 8 March 2015 He represented Ghana at the

1984 Summer Olympics The 1984 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXIII Olympiad and also known as Los Angeles 1984) were an international multi-sport event held from July 28 to August 12, 1984, in Los Angeles, California, United States. It marked the secon ...

light-heavyweight Light heavyweight, also referred to as junior cruiserweight or light cruiserweight, is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing Professional In professional boxing, the division is above and up to , falling between super middleweight and cruiserw ...

, losing to

Evander Holyfield Evander Holyfield (born October 19, 1962) is an American former professional boxer who competed between 1984 and 2011. He reigned as the undisputed champion at cruiserweight in the late 1980s and at heavyweight in the early 1990s, and is the on ...

in the first stage of the competition. He turned pro in 1985, and was unbeaten in his first five fights. In October 1986 he faced Andy Straughn for the British cruiserweight title vacated by

Sammy Reeson Sammy Reeson (born 5 January 1963) is a British former boxer who was the first to hold both the British and European cruiserweight titles and went on to fight for the WBC world title. Career From Battersea, London, Reeson began his professiona ...

, losing on points.Andy Straughn's first defence...
, ''

Glasgow Herald ''The Herald'' is a Scottish broadsheet newspaper founded in 1783. ''The Herald'' is the longest running national newspaper in the world and is the eighth oldest daily paper in the world. The title was simplified from ''The Glasgow Herald'' in ...

'', 15 December 1986, p. 9. Retrieved 8 March 2015 He got another shot at the title in May 1987, this time stopping defending champion Roy Smith in the first round to take the title. Three further victories in 1987 set him up for a challenge for

Glenn McCrory Glenn McCrory (born 23 September 1964) is a British former professional boxer who competed from 1984 to 1993. He held the IBF cruiserweight title from 1989 to 1990, and at regional level held the British and Commonwealth cruiserweight title be ...

's Commonwealth title. The two met in January 1988 with both the British and Commonwealth titles at stake; McCrory won on points. When McCrory vacated the British title later that year, Akay and Straughn met in November to contest it;Bygones: Mixed fortunes for local professional boxers back in 1988
", ''

Nottingham Post The ''Nottingham Post'' (formerly the ''Nottingham Evening Post'') is an English tabloid (newspaper format), tabloid newspaper which serves Nottingham, Nottinghamshire and parts of Derbyshire, Leicestershire and Lincolnshire. The ''Post'' is p ...

'', 19 October 2013. Retrieved 8 March 2015 Straughn again took a narrow points decision. Akay won his next six fights and in May 1991 got another chance to win the British and Commonwealth titles when he faced Derek Angol at the

Royal Albert Hall The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall on the northern edge of South Kensington, London. One of the UK's most treasured and distinctive buildings, it is held in trust for the nation and managed by a registered charity which receives no govern ...

. Angol stopped Akay in the third round to retain the titles. This proved to be Akay's final fight. Taju Akay died in May 2006 after suffering a heart attack.

References

External links

Career record
at boxrec.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Tee Jay 1962 births 2006 deaths Boxers from Accra Ghanaian male boxers English male boxers Boxers from Greater London Cruiserweight boxers Boxers at the 1984 Summer Olympics Olympic boxers of Ghana Ghanaian emigrants to England People from Paddington